The Present Conditional in French

Quick Answer

The French présent du conditionnel(present conditional) is a tense used to express what would happen under certain conditions, to make polite requests, or to convey ideas in indirect speech. It's formed by adding the imparfait(imperfect) endings to the future stem of the verb.

examples
Si j’avais le temps, je voyagerais plus. If I had time, I would travel more.
Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît. I would like a coffee, please.
Elle a dit qu’elle arriverait vers midi. She said she would arrive around noon.

examples

Si j’avais le temps, je voyagerais plus.

If I had time, I would travel more.

Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.

I would like a coffee, please.

Elle a dit qu’elle arriverait vers midi.

She said she would arrive around noon.

In this article, you’ll learn how to form the present conditional and when to use it. C’est parti !(Let’s go!)

Questions This Article Answers

What is the present conditional in French?

How do you form the present conditional?

What are the irregular stems in the present conditional?

When do you use the present conditional to express hypotheticals?

Conjugating Verbs in the Présent du Conditionnel in French

The présent du conditionnel(present conditional) is a simple tense, which means that it's made up of just one word. It has both a regular and irregular formation pattern. Regular verbs use their infinitive (or slightly modified infinitive) as the stem, while irregular verbs use a special stem. In both cases, the endings are the same: they match the endings of the imparfait(imperfect).

Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Présent du Conditionnel

The présent du conditionnel is one of the easiest tenses to conjugate in French! For regular verbs, simply take the infinitive form of the verb and add the endings of the imparfait to the end, based on the person! Let's take a look at the endings for the present conditional in French!

Present Conditional Endings in French

Subject	Ending
je	-ais
tu	-ais
il, elle, on	-ait
nous	-ions
vous	-iez
ils, elles	-aient

For example, for the verb parler(to talk), take parler and add one of the following endings directly to it.

Attention !(Watch out!) If the infinitive ends with the letter -e, as in attendre(to wait), drop the -e before applying the endings.

Here are a few verbs conjugated in the present conditional in French.

-ER Verbs in the Present Conditional

Conjugations for Parler in the Present Conditional

Subject	Ending	Example	English
je	-ais	je parlerais	I would talk
tu	-ais	tu parlerais	you would talk
il, elle, on	-ait	il parlerait	he would talk
nous	-ions	nous parlerions	we would talk
vous	-iez	vous parleriez	you (all) would talk
ils, elles	-aient	elles parleraient	they would talk

-IR Verbs in the Present Conditional

Conjugations for Choisir in the Present Conditional

Subject	Ending	Example	English
je	-ais	je choisirais	I would choose
tu	-ais	tu choisirais	you would choose
il, elle, on	-ait	il choisirait	he would choose
nous	-ions	nous choisirions	we would choose
vous	-iez	vous choisiriez	you (all) would choose
ils, elles	-aient	elles choisiraient	they would choose

-RE Verbs in the Present Conditional

Conjugations for Attendre in the Present Conditional

Subject	Ending	Example	English
je	-ais	j'attendrais	I would wait
tu	-ais	tu attendrais	you would wait
il, elle, on	-ait	elle attendrait	she would wait
nous	-ions	nous attendrions	we would wait
vous	-iez	vous attendriez	you (all) would wait
ils, elles	-aient	ils attendraient	they would wait

Take a look at these examples that use the present conditional in French!

examples
J'aimerais apprendre à jouer du piano. I would like to learn how to play the piano.
On partirait maintenant s’il ne pleuvait pas. We would leave now if it weren’t raining.
Ils chanteraient devant tout le monde s'ils n’étaient pas si timides. They would sing in front of everyone if they weren’t so shy.

Conjugating Irregular Verbs in the Présent du Conditionnel

As with any other French tense, there are some irregularities in the present conditional that you need to watch out for! The good news is that these irregular verbs use the same endings as other verbs in the present conditional. However, their stem changes. These verbs do not use the infinitive of the verb, but something often completely different! For example, the verb avoir(to have) changes to aur- in the present conditional, and the verb aller(to go) changes to ir-.

Correct	Incorrect	Translation
j'aurais	j'avoirais	I would have
j'irais	j'allerais	I would go

The "aur-" and the "ir-" parts are called the future stems. Why is it called the future stem if we're dealing with the conditional here? Good question! This is because the présent du conditionnel and the futur simple(simple future) have the exact same stems, whether regular or irregular! To make things simple, we call these stems the "future stems," whether you're conjugating a verb in the simple future or in the present conditional.

Below are some common future stems. Note that this is not an exhaustive list.

Common Irregular Future Stems

Infinitive	Future Stem
aller(to go)	ir-
avoir(to have)	aur-
devoir(to have to)	devr-
envoyer(to send)	enverr-
être(to be)	ser-
faire(to do)	fer-
pleuvoir(to rain)	pleuvr-
pouvoir(to be able to)	pourr-
recevoir(to receive)	recevr-
savoir(to know)	saur-
tenir(to hold)	tiendr-
venir(to come)	viendr-
voir(to see)	verr-
vouloir(to want)	voudr-

To conjugate one of these irregular verbs in the présent du conditionnel, add the imparfait endings directly to the future stem. For example, let’s look at a very common (and very irregular) verb in the présent du conditionnel: aller.

Conjugations for Aller in the Present Conditional

Subject	Example	English
je	j'irais	I would go
tu	tu irais	you would go
il, elle, on	il irait	he would go
nous	nous irions	we would go
vous	vous iriez	you (all) would go
ils, elles	ils iraient	they would go

French Present Conditional Endings

The present conditional endings are always the same as the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Luckily, they’re never irregular in French!

How to Conjugate Irregular Verbs in the Present Conditional in French

Still feeling unsure about how to conjugate irregular verbs in the present conditional in French? We’ve got you covered! Take a look at the conjugation tables of the most frequent verbs with an irregular future stem!

aller

avoir

devoir

envoyer

être

faire

pleuvoir

pouvoir

recevoir

savoir

tenir

venir

voir

vouloir

Examples with Irregular Verbs in the Present Conditional in French

Check out these examples of irregular verbs in the present conditional in French!

examples
Mon frère irait à la piscine s'il faisait plus chaud. My brother would go to the pool if it were hotter.
J'aurais davantage de temps si je ne travaillais pas le week-end. I would have more time if I didn't work on the weekends.
Gabriel devrait consulter un médecin. Gabriel should see a doctor.
Nous enverrions un colis express si c’était urgent. We would send the package with expedited shipping if it were urgent.
Nous serions ravis d'aller à votre mariage. We would be delighted to go to your wedding.
Je ferais un gâteau si c'était ton anniversaire. I would make a cake if it were your birthday.
S’il faisait plus chaud, il ne pleuvrait pas autant. If it were hotter, it wouldn't rain as much.
Elles pourraient essayer de nouveau. They could try again.
Tu recevrais une réponse plus rapide si tu appelais directement. You would receive a faster response if you called directly.
Elles sauraient quoi dire si elles comprenaient la situation. They would know what to say if they understood the situation.
Je te tiendrais la main si tu avais peur. I would hold your hand if you were scared.
Nous viendrions vous voir si nous avions une voiture. We would come visit you if we had a car.
Je verrais mieux si j’enlevais mes lunettes de soleil. I would see better if I took off my sunglasses.
Nous voudrions acheter une maison. We would like to buy a house.

When Is the Présent du Conditionnel Used in French?

The présent du conditionnel is used to express an action that would happen under certain conditions or to soften requests and suggestions. It's also commonly used in indirect speech in the past.

1. Hypothetical or Imagined Actions

This is the most common use of the present conditional. It expresses something that would happen, but only under certain conditions.

examples
Je ferais le tour du monde si j’avais le temps. I would travel the world if I had time.
On dormirait mieux s'il faisait moins chaud. We would sleep better if it weren't so hot.
Tu choisirais quoi si tu pouvais tout avoir ? What would you choose if you could have anything?

You'll notice that these sentences often include an if-clause with a verb in the imparfait and a main clause with a verb in the présent du conditionnel.

The Présent du Conditionnel and If-Clauses

The pattern described above where the main clause commonly contains a verb in the présent du conditionnel and the if-clause commonly contains a verb in the imparfait is known in French as la concordance des temps(the sequence of tenses). La concordance des temps refers to the required tense agreement between two clauses. The table below summarizes these matches for sentences with an if-clause.

Tense in If-Clause	Tense in Main Clause
présent de l'indicatif (present indicative)	présent de l'indicatif (present indicative) or présent de l'impératif (present imperative) or futur simple (simple future) or futur proche (near future)
imparfait (imperfect)	présent du conditionnel (present conditional)
plus-que-parfait (pluperfect)	passé du conditionnel (past conditional)

examples
Tu comprendrais mieux si tu écoutais attentivement. You would understand better if you listened carefully.
Je choisirais un autre plat si j’étais toi. I would choose another dish if I were you.
Vous seriez surpris si vous connaissiez la vérité. You would be surprised if you knew the truth.

examples

Tu comprendrais mieux si tu écoutais attentivement.

You would understand better if you listened carefully.

Je choisirais un autre plat si j’étais toi.

I would choose another dish if I were you.

Vous seriez surpris si vous connaissiez la vérité.

You would be surprised if you knew the truth.

2. Polite Requests and Suggestions

The conditional can also be used to soften a request or suggestion. For example, instead of saying what you want, you're saying what you would like, which is more polite. Instead of telling people what they must do, you're asking them if they could do something.

examples
Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît. I would like a coffee, please.
Tu pourrais m’aider, s’il te plaît ? Could you help me, please?
On devrait appeler un médecin. We should call a doctor.
J'aimerais qu'on éteigne la télé. I would like the TV to be turned off.

Verbs like aimer(to like), devoir(to have to, should), pouvoir(to be able to, could), and vouloir(to want, would like) are especially common in this use.

3. Indirect Speech in the Past

The present conditional is also used in indirect or reported speech, especially after a reporting verb like dire(to say), croire(to believe, to think), penser(to think), or promettre(to promise), conjugated in a past tense. In these cases, it reflects a future relative to the past. You’re reporting what someone said they would do from the perspective of the past.

examples
Il a dit qu’il viendrait demain. He said he would come tomorrow.
Je croyais qu’elle serait ici à 9 heures. I thought she would be here at 9 a.m.
Ils ont promis qu’ils paieraient à la fin du mois. They promised they would pay at the end of the month.

Need More Practice?

Try conjugating verbs in the présent du conditionnel with our Conjugation Drill! With a little practice, the présent du conditionnel will become a natural part of your conversations in French.